About this object

Small silver ga'u in the form of a portable shrine box. The front is covered with very fine engraved decoration including the Eight Auspicious Buddhist Symbols and foliage. The back panels are made from copper and are pinned in place. The contents are intact, but only a painted image of the Historical Buddha is visible. The front window of the ga'u is covered with a piece of glass.

Curator's note: It is difficult to know whether it was Charles Bell or Jane Fernie who collected this item. Bell gave Fernie other items from the Tibetan area, including the Fernie robe, but Fernie did travel to Sikkim in 1912-13 to stay with Cashie (her sister) and Charles Bell, so it is possible she collected this object herself.